Foot for dredge-anchors



er?? wm VL@ ATTORNEYS FOOT P0P. DRBDGE ANeHoRs. l

Patented Sept. 20, 1892.

Ol 20101 f 'l 'l (No Model.)

W. PIKE 8v N. MGDAIRMID.

THE mams Farms co.. mom-uwe., wAsnwm n n e W/TNESSES NITED STATES PATENTOFFICE.

-WILLIAM PIKE AND NORMAN MCDAIRMID, OF SAULT DE STE. MARIE, MICHIGAN.

FOOT FOR DREDGE-ANCHORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 483,012, datedSeptember 20, 1892.

Application iiled March 29, 1892. Serial No. 426,948. (lo model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, WILLIAM PIKE and NORMAN MCDAIRMID, of Sault de Ste.Marie, in the county of Chippewa and State of Michigan, have invented anew and Improved Footl for Dredge-Anchors, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to improvements in dredge-archors. Thesedredge-anchors usually consist of a vertically-movable post extendingdownward through the dredge and a solid foot fixed to the post andadapted to be embedded in the mud beneath the dredge. This sort of ananchor is necessary for the dredge, as the dredge must be heldsubstantially stationary, so that its machinery may work properly. Anobjection to the usual solid anchor-foot is that itis diliicult to breakanchor, as the suction is so great that the foot will not readily loosenits hold on the mud. This frequently causes the dredge to be sunk when astorm comes up quickly, and in any event it takes a long time to makethe anchor loose its hold.

The object of our invention is to overcome this difficulty, which we doby making the anchor-foot in sections and hinging them together, so thatwhen the dredge moves 0E the center the foot will partially close, andthus overcome the suction, so that it may be easily worked loose andraised.

To this end our invention consists in certain features of constructionand combinations of parts, which will be hereinafter described andclaimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, form-ing a part o fthis specification, in which similar figures of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both views.

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the anchorfoot embodying ourinvention, showing itapplied to an anchor-post and dredge; and Fig. 2 isa sectional plan on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1.

TheY dredge l0 may be of any approved kind, and the anchor-post 11extends vertically on one side of the dredge in the usual way, the postbeing held in a suitable support l2. The post and its support are of theusual kind. On the under side of the anchor-foot 14 is an iron-cladanchor 13 of the usual kind.

The foot 14C of the anchor comprises the fixed middle portion 15, whichis secured to the anchor-post a little above its lower end, and theleaves 16, which are hinged tothe center piece, there being a leaf oneach side. llhe leaves and center piece are of the same thickness andlength, and the leaves are hinged to the centerpiece on the under side,as shown at 17, so that when the dredge moves backward or forward theleaves may swing down, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. l'. Each leaf isprovided near the center and on the upper side with an open-topped box18, and extending through the posts ll and across the center piece l5 isa pin or bar 19, the ends of which register with the boxes 1S, so thatwhen the leaves are level with the center piece the bar will enter theboxes and the leaves will be prevented from passing up any higher orfrom working laterally. The foot will thus be nearly as strong as ifmade of a single piece. Aprons 19n are hinged to the center piece letand project over the adjacent leaves 16, so as to cover the joint andexclude mud and gravel.

The leaves are provided with cables 20, which are secured to eyebolts ortheir equivalents 21 near the outer edges of the leaves, and the cablesextend upward through holes 22 in the knees 22u of the support 12 andover sheave-pulleys 23 at the top of the post 1l, and the upper ends ofthe cables are secured to a sliding weight 24., which is mounted uponthe post 1l, and the weight thus has a tendency to Vcounterbalance theleaves and hold them in a level position.

The anchor is operated in the usual way, and any suitable mechanism maybe employed for raising and lowering the post. It will be seen that whenthe foot is pressed downward upon the bottom it will bear solidlythereon, but when the dredge is moved forward or backward to breakanchor the leaves will swing, as shown by dotted lines, so as toovercome the suction and permit the foot to be easily raised.

Having thus described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent-` 1. The combination, with the anchor-foot, ofan apron hinged to the middle section of the foot and extending over theadjacent leaves, substantially as described.

IOO

2. The combination, with the anchor-post, of a foot secured thereto andprovided with swinging leaves, substantially as described.

3. The combination, with the anchor-post, 0f a foot comprising a rigidmiddle section secured to the postand swinging leaves hinged to themiddle section, substantially as dey scribed.

4. The combination of the anchorpost, the anchor-foot having hingedleaves thereon, and a cross-bar secured to the post and extending intothe path of the leaves, substantially as described.

5. The combination of the anchor-post, the foot having swinging leaves,open-topped boxes secured to the leaves, and a cross-bar WILLIAM PIKE.NORMAN MCDAIRMID.

Witnesses:

ALEXANDER GURNoE, WILLIAM LE Co'rTE.

